Infants are often carried next to the body of an adult in an infant carrier and many carriers have been designed to accomplish this result while attempting to minimize the stress and fatigue that can result from carrying an infant. Often the wearer of the carrier becomes fatigued and suffers back pain as a result of carrying an older infant in a front carrier. Further, the carriers are often difficult to assemble and put on, uncomfortable to wear for extended periods of time due to uneven weight distribution of the infant and must be completely disassembled in order to remove the infant.
An infant carrier has been devised which includes an infant support member made of a light flexible, breathable fabric, padded shoulder support straps, a modified waist belt that includes lumbar support and a removable infant insert for placement of a smaller infant therein. The removable infant insert with hook and loop fasteners and quick release buckles and webbing straps is secured to the support member with hook and loop tabs. The padded shoulder pads are designed to evenly distribute the weight of the infant along the shoulders of a wearer while promoting proper posture of the wearer as well. A sternum/back strap on the shoulder straps provides for horizontal and vertical adjustment. A pull-out, padded headrest is also provided that provides back or neck support for a larger infant and support for the head of a smaller infant. An infant may be placed securely within the carrier to face the wearer in front carrier mode, to face the side of the wearer in hip carrying mode or facing the back of the wearer in back carrying mode. The above and other features will become more readily appreciated and understood from a consideration of the following detailed description of different embodiments when taken together with the accompanying drawings in which: